Improvement in self-acting mules for spinning



lINiTnn STATES PATENT rricn.

HARVEY S.'BARTLETT, OF SMITHFIELD, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN SELF-ACTING MULES FOR SPINNING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 412,267, dated April12, 1864.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY S.'BARTLETT, of Smithfield, in the county ofProvidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in SelfeOperating Mules; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing specification, taken in connection with the drawings, making apart of the same, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Figure 1 is a plan of the improvement. Fig. 2 is a partial sectionthrough theline A B'.

Inthe accompanying drawings it is not designed to represent all theparts which compose the wonderful and complexmachine known as theself-operating mule, but for the sake of convenience of description toexhibit only those .portions which are immediately connected with myimprovement and which will make its operation in the organized ma chineintelligible.

The great difficulty which has been heretofore experienced in the use ofself-operating mules is a want of reliability and positiveness ofoperation in making the successive changes of motion which are requiredin the working of the machine. These changes are fouir in number andoccur in the following order, the' different portions of the machineryto accomplish them being controlled by appropriate cams mounted upon ashaft which rotates at intermittent periods: First, the carriage, withits spiudleswhirling in the right direction, runs ont from the head ofthe mule upon the track prepared for it and twists the yarn, which atthe same time is given oi from the spools through the feed-rollers;second, the carriage stands still, the feed-rollers cease delivering newyarn, but the spindles continue whirling for the purpose of putting inwhat is called the standing-twist77 into yarn used for warps; third, thespindles cease whirling, but commence to turn moderately in the oppositedirection preparatory to the winding up of the yarn which has been spunupon the cop; fourth, the carriage now begins to return toward the head,the cops Winding up their threads, when, upon the completion ofthismotion, the machinery which effected it is thrown out of gear, andthe machinery to cause the carriage to run out is again put in action.

`Inithe best variety of self operating mules in use these changes havebeen dependent rollers.

upon the friction of two surfaces, as distinguished from a positiveconnection, by means of toothed wheels-that is to say, the cambearingshaft has been made to turn at the proper times for the purpose ofenabling the cams to work the changing-levers by the fric tion of theface of a driving-wheel against the face of a wheel upon the cam-shafh,this latter wheel having upon its periphery four curved scores,equidistant, of the same radius of curvature las the drivin gfwheel, sothat at thesepointfs the face of the driving-wheel does not touch thewheel upon the cam-shaft, the cam-shaft at such times being blocked andthereby prevented from turning. When the block is removed the boot X,technically so called, or a spring-lever bearing against a pin on theside of the wheel on the cam-shaft, gives the wheel and shaft asufficient forward impulse to enable the frictional driving-wheel to actupon the wheel at a point beyond the score and rotate the shaft untilthenext score is reached and the shaft blocked again. It is obvious thatsuch an arrangement for imparting motion must be oftentimes inefficient.As the surface of the drivin g-wheel becomes worn or glazed with oil theproper changes will not be effected, and consequently a disarrangementof the whole machine as well as injury to the yarn will be the result.the mule cannot be operated as fast as would otherwise be perfectlypracticable, for the reason that with increased speed the chances ofaccident from the failure of the spring-boot to act with sufficientpromptness, as well as from the slipping of thc friction-wheel, are morelikely to occur. In fact, to operate one of these machines as thusconstructed requires the most unceasing watchfulness and care on thepart of the attendant.

The object of my invention is to `produce the series ofV changes beforementioned by a positive motion through a clutch-box, actuated by a trainof gear-wheels deriving motion from the main shaft.

In the accompanying drawings, A is the main shaft, upon which aremounted the pulleys A' and A. The former pulley drives the machinerywhich causes the carriage to run ou t, and also actuates the spindlesand the feed- The latter pulley drives the train of gear-wheels andintermediate pinions, as shown, which impart motion to the secondaryBesides, too,

shaft B, upon which is the clutch-box coupling B. This shaft B is theone upon which the Various cams for effecting the changes of Inotion aremounted, and makes one complete revolution during the performance of thefull series of motions made by the mule. To the left ofthe clutch boxcoupling, which is so mounted on the shaft B that one portion canrevolve freely while the other is connected with the shaft by means of aspline upon which it slides, is the circular disk-plate C, attached tothe left hand portion of the clutchhox. Upon the face of this plate arefour inclined planes, al, b, c, and d, equidistant frfm each other,Figs. l and 2, combined with stops 0f g h, rising above the severalinclined planes. These inclined planes, in combination with a stop uponthe lever E, presently to be mentioned, are the active instruments whichcause the cam-shaft B to stand still at intermittent periods while theother parts of the mule continue in operation. A spiral spring, D,bearin g against a shoulder, l, on the shaft, constantly tends to keepthe two parts ofthe clutch-box together, so that the shaft and its camsas well as the disk-plate will revolve when the clutch is closed andwill remain at rest when the clutch is open. v

The mechanism by which the clutch-box is opened at stated periods is asfollows: The

long bar E (shown also in Fig. 2) extends from the head of the mule tothe end of the path of travel ofthe carriage and is pivoted to the frameat G. Upon its side nearest to the face of the disk-plate O is placed aprojecting pin, F, the face of which will, in certain positions of thebar E, strike against the face of the inclined plane on the diskplate Cas the latter revolves, whereby the plate will be forced along thespline on the shaft B toward the left, so as to compress the spring Dand open the clutch B. Each of these inclined planes operates insuccession to effect the disconnection between the shaft B and thedriving half of the cluteh-boxB, the two faces of the clutch-box beingagain ybrought together so as to operate the shaft B by the action ofthe spring D upon the removal of the stop from bearin g against the faceof the inclined planes by a change in the position of the bar E, whichis effected by the movement of the carriage, the inclined planes beinglocated at such distances from the edge of the disk-plate as willaccommodate these changes of positions of the stop F. Y

For the purpose of making the order :in which these changesoccurintelligible, suppose the carriage to be running out, the belt isupon the left-hand pulley, A', the clutch-box B is open, and thespindles are whirling to twist the yarn which is given off from thespools through the rollers operated by the shaft H. When the carriagehas arrived at the end of its path of travel, the bar E is tripped sothat the projecting stud F is allowed to fall below the stop, againstwhich the disk-plate was blocked, and the clutch relieved from theinclined plane is closed by the spring D. The cam-shaft B in consequencecommences to rotate and turns one-quarter of a revolution, when theclutch is opened again by the second inclined plane. The cam I is inconsequence made to act upon the lever Il to open the roller-clutch Iand stop the feed-rollers 5. also the cam J actsupo'n the lever J tothrow out of gear the carriagefrietion or Jthe-connection betweenthecarriage and the main driving-shaft. The carriage in consequencestands still, but the spindles still continue to Whirl. The long lever Eis now dropped farther, whereby the firstv stop is removed. Theclutch-box B is in consequence brought together and the cam-shaft Brotated another quarter of a revolution. While Athis is being done thestanding-twist is "put into the threads, or that twist additional tothat which has been already put into the yarn during the running out ofthe carriage, and which is only required where yarn for the warp isbeing spun. The further rotation of the camshaft above referred tocauses the cam which controls the belt-shipper to yshift the belt fromthe left-hand to the right-hand pulley, A, and the spindles cease towhirl. The lever E is now raised partially. The clutch-box is closedagain and the shaft rotates another quarter of a circle,y when it isopened again by the second inclined plane. This further rotation of thecam-shaft causes the cam K to act upon the backing off lever K', andcauses the spindles to commence what is called the backing-off motion,or a motion in an opposite direction from that in which they werewhirled pre paratory to winding up the spun yarn upon the cops. Thelever E is now shifted, the clutch-box again closed, and the cam-shaftrotated through the third quarter of its revolution, when the clutch isopened by the third inclined'plane. This partial rotation causes the camK to throw out the back-off,7 and the cam I to operate the lever L,which throws into gear the scroll-clutch K4. The scrolls L Lll commenceto revolve and wind up the cord, which drags back the carriage` to thehead of the mule, the cops winding up the spun yarn. While the cam shafthas been making the last three-quarters of its revolution and effectingthe changes upon the -sevy eral levers referred to, the leverscontrolling the carriage-friction, roller-clutch, and beltshipper arenot iniuenced at all, for, from the shape of the cams, after thecarriage has arrived at the head of the mule the lever E is shifted, theshaft B is turned through 'the fourth quadrant to its first position,the cam J throws into gear the carriage-friction, the cam I throws outof gear the scroll-clutch and throws into gear the roller-clutch,v andthe belt is shifted from the right-hand to the lefthand pulley, so thatthe mule is ready to repeat the series of operations before described.Instead of providing the disk-plate C with four inclined planes, asshown in the drawings, I contemplate the use of eight inclinedl planesand stops, so that by changing the speed of the gearing the cam-shaft Bwill make only one-half a revolution while the. series of changes isperformed by the mule. With a positive connection this arrangementproposed will be entirely practicable and will greatly increase thespeed at which the machine can be run.

What I cla-im as my invention7 and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. The mode of operation, substantially as described, by means of whicha disconnection is effected at stated intervals between the cambearingshaft B in a self-operating mule and the source of motion derived fromthe pulley A, where themech anism to effect the same is combined andarranged in the manner substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the spring D and the clutch B with the mechanismby which the position of the leverE with its stop F is shifted for thepurpose of restoring; the connection of the cam-bearing shaft B With themain source of motion, substantially as shown and de scribed.

H. S. BARTLETT.

Witnesses:

CF1-ros. H. PEABODY, BENJ. F. TnURs'roN.

